Orson Pratt

“ If what we have been speaking of, this afternoon, be true, you behold the condition of the whole human family in regard to the ordinances of the gospel. You see that without authority they cannot embrace the gospel. If it be not true then all these Latter-day Saints are deceived, and we, like all the rest of the world, are without authority and power. But if it be true, not only you and I and the people of this Territory are concerned, but every man and woman in the world are equally so. ”

“ We have a commission to preach the gospel to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people; to call upon Gentiles and Jews, ministers and religious people, and professors of all denominations, as well as unbelievers, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, to repent of their sins, to be baptized, by those holding authority, for the remission of their sins, that they may be filled with the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. To contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints, that they may have power with God, as promised to every soul that believes. ”

“ Admit that after the apostles fell asleep there was no further revelation, that the canon of scripture was closed up at the end of the first century of the Christian era. If we admit this you see the dilemma into which the whole world is plunged. No man can receive the priesthood and authority to administer either in word, in doctrine or in ordinances without new revelation from Heaven. Shall I prove it? Let me refer you to the testimony of Paul in the epistle to the Hebrews, wherein he says that no man taketh this honor to himself, except he be called of God as was Aaron. ”

“ That power has been rooted out from the earth. A form has been left it is true,—in fact a great many forms; but what is the form without the power? What, for instance, is the use of preaching baptism for the remission of sins to the human family, if there is no person authorized and ordained from God to administer baptism to those who believe and repent? None at all. People might go forth and preach baptism from age to age and from generation to generation, but who could be baptized, or what would be the use of it, unless there were authority to administer the ordinance? ”

“ What testimony have we that there has been no authority for many generations, or from the days of the ancient apostles until the present century? Have we any evidence in relation to this matter? We are sorry to say that we have so much that we are obliged to believe that darkness has truly reigned over the inhabitants of the earth, and gross darkness has filled their minds. ”

“ Must all be condemned who do not bow to this order? Are there not good sects among the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians, and good people of all sects and parties, just men whose prayers continually ascend before God? ”

“ It is the gospel which He has revealed which we have received. It is the Holy Ghost which the Father be-stows upon the children of men, through His name, by which we are sanctified and made pure in heart.
The gospel of the Son of God is not a doctrine of late invention; but it is an old doctrine—a doctrine that was made manifest in the beginning. It has been taught in every dispensation; and all that were saved in the days of Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, or the prophets, as well as in the days of Christ, and since His day, were saved through belief in the Son of God, and in His gospel. ”

“ In my name they shall do many wonderful works; in my name they shall cast out devils; in my name they shall heal the sick; in my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf; and the tongue of the dumb shall speak; and if any man shall administer poison unto them it shall not hurt them; and the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them. ”

“ When Jesus gave the commission to his apostles in ancient days he told them to preach the gospel to all the world,—to every person under the whole heaven, and said, "he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." ”

“ If He has not we may preach until doom's day, and our preaching will not save us in the fullness of the glory of the heavenly worlds. We may baptize, and our baptisms will not be recorded in the heavens. We may administer the sacrament, but God will never receive the authority by which it is administered, and it will not be recorded in the behalf of the individuals who received it from unauthorized hands. ”

“ No, he only did the work given him to do—reveal the record of the gospel as taught among the Israelites of the American continent. Could the Church arise or anybody be baptized from that? No; it required still further authority. Authority to translate is one thing, authority to baptize is another. Authority to reveal the Book of Mormon is one thing; authority to build up the Church and Kingdom of God is another. But God did afterwards give the authority to baptize and build up His Church. How? By sending angels from Heaven who, themselves, had the power to ordain persons to be Apostles. ”

“ As much as to say, you cannot be saved with all your prayers and alms, unless you have a properly authorized servant of God, to tell you how to be saved, and to administer the ordinances of salvation to you. ”

“ Again, come down to about three centuries ago, when the first Reformers came out and began to testify and protest against the Mother Church, and what do they exhibit? We are hunting for authority. They have invented articles of faith, and these alone are the basis of their authority. ”